1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface mount type photo-interrupter and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A-H6-350129 Gazette discloses an example of a conventional photo-interrupter of surface mount type. The photo-interrupter includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element provided in a resin package, and metal leads extending from respective elements mentioned above. A groove is provided between the light emitting element and the light receiving element. The photo-interrupter detects an object passing through this groove.
In manufacturing the above-mentioned conventional photo-interrupter, each of the elements is sealed together with leads by transparent resin so as to form a primary mold. Then, the paired primary molds are fixed integrally by opaque resin so as to form a secondary mold.
Due to the metal leads consisting of a metal plate, however, the photo-interrupter shows relatively large weight and requires high manufacturing cost. In addition, since the leads project out of the resin package, not only the resin package but also the leads require space when the photo-interrupter is mounted onto the circuit board. This causes growth in size of a device employing the photo-interrupter.